Pilot.



PATENTED FEB. 11, 1908. H. W. FELLOWS & I. A. GAMMETT..

PILOT. APPLICATIOI FILED D110. 28. 19 08.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUGH W. FELLOWS, OF OAHUENGA, AND IRA A. OAMMETT, OF HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA.

PILOT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 11, 1908.

Application filed December 28,1906. Serial No. 349,925.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HUGH W. FELLOWS, residing at Oahuenga, in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, and IRA A. OAMMETT, residing at Hollywood, in the county of Los Angeles, State of. California, both citizens of the United States, have invented a new and useful Pilot, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to pilots. Numererous car fenders (not pilots) have been produced, which could be folded up, but for service on cars having generally a high speed, car fenders of the ordinary type are open to certain objections which are overcome by using a pilot. For example, one advantage of a pilot is that when it strikes a person on the track, or other movable obstacles, it throws the same to one side of the track; another advantage is that owing to its wedge shape and braced construction it is much stronger for a given weight than a fender, and the use of a pilot instead of afender on such cars is to be preferred, and in general the object of the present invention is to provide a pilot which can be folded as readily as a fender, which will permit the draw bar to be extended through the pilot,'which can be collapsed to allow two cars 2 o be coupled closely together, which, without being, removed from the car can be folded and swung up out of the way to leave a clear space from the deck of the car to the track to allow the trucks of the car to be drawn out along the track from under the car.

In the class of cars for which the pilot is particularly adapted, the cars may be provided at each end with a pilot, and the present invention makes it possible to fold up the rear pilot if desired. Obviously the pilots on both ends of a car may be folded up when the car is in the barn or yard, and thus economize track space.

Other objects and advantages will be brought out in the following description.

Referring to the drawings :Figure 1 is a front view of the lower portion of a car equipped with the pilot. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the pilot, showing part of the drawbar of the car, the contour of the end of the car being shown by dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line x w Fig. 1. is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the upper part of the pilot opened and folded to permit of the extension of the draw-bar. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the pilot folded. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the pilot folded as in Fig. 5, dotted lines illustrating the position of the pilot when swung up topermit of the withdrawal of the car truck from under the car. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the pilot folded. Fig. 8 is a plan view, in detail, of the toggle and adjacent bars em ployed for holding the pilot opened in opera tive condition.

The pilot in preferred form comprises a pair of posts 1, hinged at 2 to brackets 3 which are bolted to the car frame 4. Each post 1 is provided with upper and lower lugs 5. Each pair of lugs 5 support a shaft 6.

Each shaft 6 is provided with a series of having, as shown in Fig. 8, two perforations 10, the rods 7 on one side being hooked through the perforations 10 on one side of the mid-bar 8, and the rods 7 on the other side being hooked through the perforations 10 on the other side of the mid-bar 8. The v mid-bar 8 has a rounded nose 11 at its lower end. The two uppermost rods 7 on each side are provided with sleeves 12 and a pair of arms 13 have their lower ends curled around the sleeves 12. provided with sleeves l4, and connected to the respective arms 13 are two sets ,of rods 15, the inner ends of rods 15 being curled around sleeves 14, except that the two upper rods 15 have their inner ends interlocked with eyes 16 on the ends of arms 13. The respective rods 15 are near their other ends spaced apart and supported by braces 17, the extreme upper rod 15 of each set having a sleeve 18 around which is curled the upper end of the adjacent brace 17. The lower end of each brace 17 is curled around a sleeve 19 on the upper rod 7, the other three rods 15 of each set being pinned to their adjacent brace 17. The ends of rods 15 project beyond the braces 17, as shown. Each set of bars 15 with its arm- 14 and brace 17 thus constitute a gate hinged on the upper rod 7, and each gate may be swung down flat against the section of rods 7 below it. The gates when in normal operative position are The arms 13 are locked by means of hooks 20, which are carried by a revoluble shaft mounted in a bracket 22, the shaft 21 being operated by a handle 23.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the bracket 22 has a central notch 24 which permits of the swinging of the handle 23. The two wings of bracket 22 have undercut recesses 25, which recesses receive and constitute abutments for the inner ends of the two upper rods 15. By swinging up the handle 23, the hooks 20 release the upper rods 15, and the two gates may then be swung down and folded against the lower sections of the pilot.

The lower ends of posts 1, just above the lower lugs 5, are provided with sleeves 26, which sleeves support a cross brace 27. As shown clearly in Fig. 6, a third lug 9 from the bottom of mid-bar 8, supports a curved spring clip 28 which is adapted to snap over the upper part of the cross bar 27 at its center when the lower sections of the pilot are collapsed. Lugs 29, extending rearwardly from sleeves 26, are connected by bolts 30 to diagonal braces 31, the upper ends of braces 31 articulating at 32 to brackets 33 oh the car frame 4, the bolts 32 being easily removed when desired to disconnect braces 31 from brackets 33.

The lower front end of the mid-bar 8 is provided with an eye 34, to which is connected a link 35 forming one part of a toggle. The "other member of the toggle comprises a link 36 having an extension 37 consisting of a folded plate U-shaped in cross section and having wings 38, the link 35 articulating with wings 38. Link 36 is pivoted at 39 to the cross brace 27, shown in Figs. 2 and 8. The extension 37 is provided with a pin hole 40, which, when the toggle is straightened, registers with pin hole 41 in link 35, and ,a pin, not shown, may be dropped therethrough to prevent flexing of the toggle joint when extended, although this expedient is not necessary, as the toggle when straightened breaks somewhat past a straight line.

The larger bars of the pilot, such as brace 31, posts 1, shaft 6 and cross brace 27, are preferably of tubular construction, while the smaller bars may be solid. In operation, when extended, the parts of the pilot occupy the positions shown in Fig. 3, the toggle 35, 36 being straightened, the upper gates being retained closed by hooks 20. When it is de sired to collapse the pilot for economy of yard space, or for permitting two cars to be coupled close'together, the upper gates are first released by hooks 20 and swung down against the lower sections of the pilot, the toggle 36 is then flexed, and by pushing in the mid-bar S, the rods 7 slide through the perforations in shafts 6 and permit the four sections of the pilot to be moved back into substantially a vertical plane, as shown in Fig. 6. Then collapsed, as shown, no part of the pilot projects beyond thefarthest part of the car frame and the pilot is thus entirely out of the way in a very compact position. A large open space is left above the folded pilot which allows the draw-bar 42 to be extended and to partake of its necessary lateral swing in rounding curves, and in the operations of coupling or uncoupling, the retired position of the pilot gives ample room for. the car-man to go between the cars to make the coupling, and his movements are not hampered in any way by the folded pilot. By withdrawing bolts 32 the upper ends of braces 31 may be disconnected, and the pilot still being folded, it may be swung up into position as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 6, and the braces 31 may stand vertical and act as supports for the folded pilot, the lower ends of the braces 31 resting on the track, as shown. The pilot when thus supported occupies a position such that it projects only very slightly below the deck of the car and a perfectly free space is thus left between the pilot and the track which allows the truck to be drawn out along the track from under the car. As the pilot does not have to be detached from the car to enable the withdrawal of the trucks, and as it can be swung into this position very quickly, it is obvious that a great saving of time is effectuated. The folded pilot may be swung back again into its vertical position and the braces reconnected with brackets 33 with equal facility. The pilot when folded is prevented from accidental displacement by the spring clip 28 enga ing the tubular cross brace 27, as shown in ig. 6.

What we claim is 1. A pilot composed of a plurality of sections forming a wedge, and means for swinging the sections into substantial paralellism with each other.

2. A pilot composed of a plurality of sections forming a wedge, and means for open ing the upper part of the wedge to permit extensions of the draw-bar of the car.

3. A pilot composed of a plurality of sections forming a wedge, and means for swinging down upper sections into parallelism with lower sections to form an opening for the draw-bar of the car.

4. A pilot composed of sections normally forming a wedge, and means for collapsing the sections.

5. A pilot comprising a wedge, and means for changing the planes of the wedge into substantial parallelism perpindicular to the deck of the car or parallel to the deck.

6. A pilot comprising a wedge, means for changing the planes of the wedge into substantial parallelism erpendicular to the deck of the car or paralle to the deck, and means for supporting the pilot, thus folded, parallel with the deck, thereby allowing withdrawal of the car truck.

7. In a pilot, vertical posts hinged to the car, sections carried by said posts and norspect to the side posts.

9. In a pilot, a mid-bar, means carried by the car pivotally supporting the mid bar, side posts hinged to the car, cross rods articulated with the mid-bar and with their outer portions slidably supported with res neat to the side posts, and means for norma ly holding the lower end of the mid-bar extended be yond its upper end.

10. In a pilot, a 1nidbar; means carried by the car pivotally supporting the mid bar, side posts hinged to the car, cross-rods articulated with the mid-bar and with their outer portions slidably supported with respect to the side posts, and collapsible means for normally holding the lower end of the mid-bar extended beyond its upper end and for permitting the mid-bar to be swung back to flatten the pilot.

11. In a pilot, a mid-bar, means carried by said sections in closed position.

the car pivotally supporting the mid bar, side posts hinged to the car, cross rods articulated with the mid-bar and with their outerportions slidably supported with respect to the side posts, and gates above the cross rods foldable against the cross rods.

12. In a pilot, a mid-bar, means carried by the car pivotally supporting the mid bar, side posts hinged to the car, cross rods articulated with the mid-bar and with their outer portions slidably supported with respect to the side posts, gates above the cross rods foldable against the cross rods, and means for detachably locking the gates in closed position.

13. A pilot composed of a plurality of sections forming a wedge, means for swinging down upper sections into parallelism with lower sections to form an opening for the draw-bar of the car, and means for locking 14. A cow catcher comprising a plurality of rearwardly diverging sections, and means for collapsing the sections.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands at Los Angeles California this 21st day ofDecember 1906.

HUGH W. FELLOWS. IRA A. CAMMETT. 

